Hot-shooting Hemlock boys win big over Bullock Creek, 66-47

Published 6:00 am, Wednesday, January 15, 2014

NICK KING | nking@mdn.netBullock Creek's Jacob Dean, right, steals the ball from Hemlock's Jacob Rowley during the first period Tuesday at Bullock Creek High School. Hemlock won 66-47.

NICK KING | nking@mdn.netBullock Creek's Jacob Dean, right, steals the ball from Hemlock's Jacob Rowley during the first period Tuesday at Bullock Creek High School. Hemlock won 66-47.

Photo: Nick King/Midland Daily News

Hot-shooting Hemlock boys win big over Bullock Creek, 66-47

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Hemlock was missing a starter, but the Huskies didn’t miss a beat.

With senior forward John Kaufmann absent due to a death in the family, the rest of the Huskies more than picked up the slack Tuesday in a 66-47 win over host Bullock Creek in Tri-Valley Conference Central boys’ basketball.

Hemlock pushed the ball upcourt off of Lancers’ turnovers, passed well, and shot at a torrid pace in the first half, taking a 20-point lead into the break and cruising from there.

Huskies’ coach Matt Bauer said he likes his team’s balance.

“I think we have some good rotation things happening for us right now. We’re having different guys step up for us off the bench, and our rotations are getting a bit more set,” said Bauer, whose Huskies are 6-2 overall and 5-0 in the TVC Central. “We’ve got 14 kids (on the roster), and between No. 6 and 14, there’s not much (drop-off). ... They all bring something different (to the court).”

Hemlock shot 58 percent (19 of 33) from the floor in the first half and 45 percent (27 of 60) for the game, building its lead to as much as 30 in the third quarter before Bauer sat his starters for the rest of the game.

“They’re a really tough matchup for us, because they have three perimeter kids who can all attack the basket, who can all pass it, and who can all shoot the 3(-pointer), and they have size inside to complement that. Their team is constructed really nice,” said Creek coach Justin Freeland, whose Lancers fall to 4-2, 2-1.

“ ... We need to do some thing defensively to make them not play well,” he added. “We didn’t play nearly good enough individual or team defense to slow down a team like that.”

Alex Fleming led Creek with 14 points, while Parrish TerBurgh added 10 points, and Jordan Dopp had eight rebounds for the Lancers.

Bauer noted that this year’s Huskies are markedly different offensively than teams he’s had in the recent past.

“We’ve got some good shooters on this year’s team. I haven’t really had that the last couple of years,” he said. “We’ve been kind of a grind-it-out and pound-it-in (the lane) team in the past.”

The Lancers built a 7-2 lead, but it evaporated quickly. As Creek started turning the ball over repeatedly and the Huskies began converting both on the fast break and from the perimeter, Hemlock finished the first quarter on a 23-7 run to go up 25-14.

The Huskies continued to hit shots in the second quarter, outscoring Creek 19-10 to take a 44-24 lead into the locker room and essentially putting the game out of reach.

“They (Creek) play that very tight 2-3 zone (defense), so it was very big for us to get a nice lead,” said Bauer. “Once they had to go to man(-to-man defense), they don’t match up real well, I don’t think. We shot the ball well early, and different guys (contributed) from different spots. It was nice to see.”

The Lancers shot 38 percent (20 of 53) from the floor and committed 24 turnovers.

“Basketball gets really simple when one team is really offensively skilled and is playing at a really high level, while the other team is struggling to get the ball in the basket,” said Freeland. “It’s hard to fight through that emotionally.”

Creek heads to Alma on Friday, then hosts Swan Valley in a makeup game at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Saturday following the girls’ game.

Hemlock hosts Chesaning on Friday.

“We were really locked in and playing really cohesively right before Christmas, and we haven’t quite recaptured that feel yet (since the holiday break),” said Freeland. “ ... We’ll get it back again. It’s a long season.”